The Link Fixer Plugin (note the name change from Permalink Finder) detects when WordPress cannot find a permalink. Before it generates the 404 error the plugin tries to locate any posts with similar words. It does this by searching through the database trying to find any of the word values from the bad link. It takes the best match and then, rather than issuing a 404 error, it sends back a redirect to the correct page.
Users will see the page that they are looking for, and search engine spiders will see the 301 redirect and update their databases so that the page appears correctly in searches.
This is especially useful where WordPress removes words like “the” and “a” from the permalink during conversions from Blogger.com accounts. It is also useful for migrations that formerly used extensions such as html and shtml, when WordPress does not.
The configuration panel allows a user to select how the plugin finds a missing page. The plugin counts the number of words that match to a post. By default, a two word match is sufficient to cause a redirect to the found page. False positives are possible, especially if the user selects a one word match. Increasing the number of words, however makes it unlikely that the plugin will ever find a match. You may eliminate numbers from the search. You may specify that a list of common English words like “the”, “and”, “who”, “you”, etc., not be considered in finding the correct permalink.
Optionally, the plugin will redirect hits on index.html, index.htm, and index.shtml to the blog home page. This is useful when a website previously used a non-php home page.
If WordPress detects a 404 error on robots.txt, sitemap.xml, crossdomain.xml, favicon.ico, or apple-touch-icon.png it will provide a default version.
The plugin will also optionally keep track of the last few 404’s or redirects. This is useful to find out what pages are missing or named badly that keep causing 404 errors or forcing redirects.
Support
This plugin is free and I expect nothing in return. Please rate the plugin at: https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/permalink-finder/
If you wish to support my programming, You can donate or buy my book:
https://www.facebook.com/BlogsEye
Error Message Eyes: A Programmer’s Guide to the Digital Soul
Download & install the zip archive
The plugin package installer can be downloaded from the WP2E project tab called “code”.
1 – Select the version to download if this option is available otherwise the “latest” version of the main plugin will be used.
2 – After downloading the zip archive install the plugin package installer in you local environment and activate the script from the plugin list.
3 – Under the section “Plugins” of the admin dashboard you should see a new “Dependencies & Licenses” link. Follow the instructions from this panel to finalize the installation of the missing dependencies.
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- Give a name to your project
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- Download the Installer Package
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- Install & activate the plugin locally
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- Install the suggested dependencies
Tips: Use the WP2E panel to add/suggest new dependencies to the local installation. Press F5 in the list of dependencies if the changes are not displayed right away.